Thursday, May 29, 2014

Paper scraps. Not the most glamorous topic. But problematic for scrapbookers, for sure.

I'm hoping I'm not the only one who hoards paper scraps. (What if I need that little 1/4" strip of cardstock for something?!) I have cut down on my paper scraps, first of all, by instituting a rule: if it's not large enough to punch a 1" shape out of, it gets tossed. Unless it's a 12" strip -- then I keep it if it's 1/2" wide or more. Easy enough.

And yet, I have SO many paper scraps. I have tried lots of different "organizing" methods, from complex (a box or bag for each color, stored in a binder) to simple (one big 'ole box). But with my latest scrap space re-organizing, I'm somewhere in between.

I have these IKEA cabinets that fit under my scrap table. The drawers aren't large enough for 12x12 paper, but they are great for storing scraps.

I am now storing my scraps in color families: warm colors in the first drawer (red, pink, orange, and yellow), cool colors in the second drawer (green, blue, and purple), and neutrals in the third drawer (white, cream, brown, black, and gray).

This system works great for me, because I'm usually looking for a specific color. Now, I like to go to my scraps first when I'm cutting with my Silhouette Cameo or using my manual die cutter. Plus it's handy for making cards and coordinating papers that you wouldn't normally put together.

I feel like I'm making the best use of my scraps. A great feeling! And when my drawers are getting too full, I make a point to create a layout or card entirely out of scraps, like these:

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Hello everyone! I have a new project up today at Miss Kate Cuttables -- it's a fun, beachy, girly layout, and I just love it. Here's a sneak peek:

In addition to sharing the project itself, I wanted to do a little product review. About a month ago, I was sent a package of glue products from Beacon Adhesives. It was a great assortment for all kinds of crafting projects:

In a word -- perfect! The Zip Dry Paper Glue is a clear liquid that applies easily and lets you move and line up your layers. It does dry quickly, but not so quick that you can't make adjustments if you need to. It does tend to dry out in the bottle tip, so I kept a stick pin stuck in the top as I was working to keep it clear. And since it's a liquid glue, it works great for the very small, delicate pieces you can cut with your electronic die cutter.

I used the 3-in-1 Advanced Craft Glue to adhere the Royal Jewels on all of my flowers. Again, it worked perfectly. It was very easy to make a precise little glue dot and then layer on the Jewels. After drying, the Jewels are still stuck on very well.

Thank you to Beacon Adhesives for letting me try out their wonderful line of glue products. I can't wait to create more fun with their adhesives soon.

Note: This post does include affiliate links. If you buy an item through these links, I will be paid a small amount in advertising fees. All opinions are my own. I appreciate your help in support of this site. Thank you!

Friday, May 23, 2014

Good morning, everyone! I am just popping in for a quick post to say -- I am thrilled and honored that I have two layouts published this month in Northridge Publishing's lovely magazines: one layout in the May 2014 issue of
Scrapbook Trends (in the Vintage section) and another layout in
the May 2014 issue of Create: Stamping.

Here are two little sneak peeks:

If you aren't a subscriber to these Northridge publications, you can easily subscribe with the All Access Pass. Northridge Publishing has all-digital issues now, so the All-Access Pass gives you access to every monthly publication and their Signature Series publications. I love my subscription!

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

It's so hard for me to believe, but my term as a design team member for Kiwi Lane is coming to end soon. I'm so sad about it! I have loved designing for them, but I know they will soon have a new team in place with lots of creative ideas to share.

As part of the work I've been doing for them, I've been using my Kiwi Lane designer templates more than ever. I needed a good storage solution for them in my scrap room so that I could see what I have and easily choose sets to work with on my projects. And since the templates all come packaged with a lovely binder ring and eyelet-set hole, this is how I've been storing them:

I'm using a ribbon storage unit from Simply Renee. I don't know that this particular model is available any longer, but it looks like there are similar versions you can choose from. The little clips are perfect for holding those binder clip rings.

I keep all of my border templates together, then all of the accessory templates, then all of my card and 8-inch templates. I also try to keep "like sets" together -- for instance, I have all of my bracket templates on one ring, regardless of size, along with the regular and tiny versions of the accessory templates. This lets me play with multiple sizes of the templates at once, making for more interesting and quicker pages. Love that!

Kiwi Lane has recently released a very awesome DT Tray that I just love. I haven't gotten my hands on it yet, but it looks super fun for having your templates right on your scrapping table next to you.

How do you organize your Kiwi Lane designer templates? I would love to hear your ideas.

Until next time,
Stay crafty!
Lissa :)

Note: This post does include affiliate links. If you buy an item through these links, I will be paid a small amount in advertising fees. All opinions are my own. I appreciate your help in support of this site. Thank you!

Monday, May 19, 2014

Hello everyone! I'm honored to be up on the Kiwi Lane Designs blog today with a new project for May -- a tutorial on how to make 20 cards with a 6x6 paper pad and your Kiwi Lane templates! I'm pretty proud of all these new, amazing cards I made...

This month we are working with Fancy Pants Designs! I was so happy to work with the As You Wish collection for my project. Just beautiful... I used these products from the As You Wish collection for my cards:

The featured Kiwi Lane designer templates
for May are the Floral and Tiny Bracket templates. You can do so much with these two sets, including make about a million cards. LOL. You'll have to head on over to the
Kiwi Lane blog to see the full project...

But before you go, you must enter to win your very own set of Kiwi Lane Tiny Bracket templates. To enter, just do one of these:

Subscribe to my blog (in the left nav) and leave a comment on this post telling me you're all signed up.

Like my Facebook page and leave me a quick post there telling me you did it.

I'll announce the random winner on May 27. Be sure to enter before
midnight MST on May 26. (I can only ship to United States -- thank you
for your understanding.)

Good luck and stay crafty!
Lissa :)

Updated 6/5/14 -- I apologize for being so late in this! Congratulations to Barb -- you are the winner of the Tiny Bracket templates! Email me at mightycrafty.me@gmail.com to claim your prize.

Note: This post does include affiliate links. If you buy an item through these links, I will be paid a small amount in advertising fees. All opinions are my own. I appreciate your help in support of this site. Thank you!

Saturday, May 17, 2014

Hello everyone! I'm so happy today to be participating in the Sketch N Scrap 2nd Birthday Bash Celebration. The month of challenges has been so fun. I hope you've been creating some great layouts and cards with all of the prompts and challenges that the designers have come up with.

Today, it's my turn to host a challenge for the month-long celebration. And when you finish your layout, put a direct link to your photo/blog post in the comments here on this page. I'll be giving away a fun prize for one random winner!

Without further ado, here's the challenge I'm hosting:Use your favorite Sketch N Scrap sketch to create a layout or card.

I had a hard time choosing a sketch (there are so many!), but I finally settled on this one:

I love getting lots of photos on a layout, so this sketch was perfect. Here's the layout I created based on the sketch:

I love that I was able to get five photos onto this single-page layout. I used the Simple Stories Take a Hike collection for this layout. I love the outdoors-y color palette and embellishments. Perfect for these photos of our vacation last year to South Dakota.

Now, it's your turn to create a new layout or card based on your favorite sketch from Sketch N Scrap. Pick any sketch, create your project, then link up your photo or blog post here in the comments on this post.

Challenge Rules:

Entry deadline is June 17, 2014.

Can use any layout or card sketch that's ever been posted at Sketch N Scrap. There are so many to choose from -- the challenge may be just in narrowing it down!

Must create a NEW project for this challenge (no back-linking to a prior project).

Must be/become a follower of the Sketch N Scrap blog.

Must be/become a follower of my blog.

Put the direct link to your photo/blog post in the comments below -- be sure to link back to my challenge and to the sketch on the Sketch N Scrap blog.

If you're the winner, you'll receive a fun package of surprise goodies from me. :) I'll announce the random winner on June 18, so you have until midnight MST on June 17 to link up your project. (I can only ship to United States -- thank you for your understanding.)

Note: This post does include affiliate links. If you buy an item through these links, I will be paid a small amount in advertising fees. All opinions are my own. I appreciate your help in support of this site. Thank you!

Thursday, May 15, 2014

An exciting day -- it's time for another sketch from Sketch N Scrap. I love working with their monthly sketches. They always offer fun elements to play with and interpret onto your pages. Plus, I love seeing how all the designers create based on the sketch. So many creative ideas!

Each month, Sketch N Scrap offers three layout sketches and two card sketches to
challenge your creativity. And if you link up your creation at their
site, you'll be entered to win an awesome prize package -- a different
prize each month.

Here's sketch #57:

And here's the layout I created based on the sketch:

Ugh -- such sweet babies! These babies are now almost 11 years old, and it drives me crazy to see how little they were. Appreciate those baby days, everyone! They are gone before you know it.

I used a page kit from Making Memories to start this layout, then I added in lots of blue patterns from my stash. This one came together so quick thanks to the awesome sketch!

Love those felt stars! They were in the Making Memories page kit. It feels great to be using up my stash...

Be sure to play along with the sketch challenge this month (and every
month!) at Sketch N Scrap. Don't forget -- if you link up your creation
at Sketch N Scrap, you'll be entered to win a great prize giveaway -- a new prize each month.

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Hello everyone! There's a new card sketches up at Practical Scrappers
for May, and I have a new card to share with you to go with it. I have been making more cards lately, which has been fun -- and handy to have around when I need one! I'm also sorry to say that this is the last sketch from Practical Scrappers, as the site is shutting down this month. The team has done such great things at Practical Scrappers, but it's time for them to do other things.

Here's the Practical Scrappers card sketch for May:

And here is the card I created:

I was determined to create this card with scraps, and I kind of did. :) These are papers from a DCWV mat stack that I had put into my scrap drawer a long time ago when I used up most of the pad. They are a set of beautiful glitter papers, and I thought they would go great with this sketch. I layered the papers together and used a printed sentiment. I then punched out the butterflies with two different butterfly punches, bent up the wings, and added a yellow pearl. Super quick and so pretty.

Be sure to head on over to Practical Scrappers for the rest of the card sketch reveal projects -- the design team always does such a great job with their cards and I love to see all the different variations. And be sure to wish everyone well since this is the last month Practical Scrappers will be around. I will miss working with this team...

For our blog hop, there are awesome giveaways up for grabs from both Miss Kate and Xyron. Don't miss out! See the end of this blog post for more details...

Did you know Out on a Limb Scrapbooking is a sister company to Miss Kate Cuttables? In fact, if you love the Miss Kate Cuttables cut files, you can find the same adorable designs at the Out on a Limb Scrapbooking store, all cut and kitted up into page kits!

We were each given a layout kit from Out on a Limb to work with -- and they are all so adorable! I had the Fun at the Circus kit to work with. Here's the layout I created:

It was so easy to run the pre-cut pieces from the page kit through the 3" sticker maker, then layer the pieces together.

I inked everything with Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Frayed Burlap. I then used my Kiwi Lane templates to cut and trace my background pieces:

Clara Lane 1A, 1B, 2A, 2B, 3A, 3B

Strips 1/2", 1"

The papers are just random bright patterns from my stash. This was the perfect page kit for combining lots of bright colors. Finally, I added these gorgeous jewels from The Royal Castle Shoppe. They are so easy to apply with just a little dab of clear-drying glue -- and they add so much shine and fun.

Love!! Here are a few close-ups:

I love how it turned out! Thank you Out on a Limb Scrapbooking and Xyron!! You can really do so much with these page kits from Out on a Limb Scrapbooking and adhesives from Xyron -- go check out all the options and pick out something fun that you would like to play with.

To enter the giveaways this week for the blog hop, be sure to follow my blog and then comment on my post
here today -- then head over to the Miss Kate Cuttables blog to see the rest of the projects and enter the giveaway!

Until next time...
Stay crafty!
Lissa :)

Note: This post does include affiliate links. If you buy an item through these links, I will be paid a small amount in advertising fees. All opinions are my own. I appreciate your help in support of this site. Thank you!

Saturday, May 10, 2014

Good morning! It's time for another awesome Inspired By sketch from Sketch N Scrap.
This sketch is another great one, inspired by an actual layout created
by a Sketch N Scrap design team member. Each month, Sketch N Scrap
offers three layout sketches and two cards sketches to help you get lots
of projects done. And when you link up your creation, you'll be entered
to win a great prize drawing too...

Here's this month's Inspired By sketch:

And here's what I created based on the sketch:

So much fun -- love the colors and patterns on this one. Once again, I'm "killing the kit" by using up my stash of monthly kit club kits. This layout is another one from the March 2013 Studio Calico kit. It is so fun to create such different looks from a single kit.

I felt the need for a long, fun title on this layout. I think it turned out great.

So that's my project for this month. And now, head on over to Sketch N Scrap to see what the other talented designers came up with for this sketch!

Be sure to play along with the sketch challenge this month (and every
month!) at Sketch N Scrap. Don't forget -- if you link up your creation
at Sketch N Scrap, you'll be entered to win a great prize giveaway -- a new prize each month.